1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable terminals, and more particularly to portable terminals having first and second housings coupled in such a manner that they can be rotated while they face each other, as well as swing hinge modules to facilitate the rotation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, “portable terminals” refer to apparatuses which a user can carry with him/her to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. According to their appearance, such portable terminals may be classified into bar-type terminals, flip-type terminals, and folder-type terminals. The bar-type terminal has a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type terminal has a flip or a cover which is pivotably mounted to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge unit. The folder-type terminal has a folder coupled to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge unit in such a manner that the folder can be rotated in order to be folded to or unfolded from the housing.
Further, the portable terminals may be classified into rotation-type terminals and sliding-type terminals according to ways of opening and closing the terminals. In the rotation-type terminals, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing rotates to be opened or closed relative to the other. In the sliding-type terminals, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing slides to be opened or closed relative to the other while they face each other. These variously classified portable terminals can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
Meanwhile, conventional portable terminals, as mentioned above, necessarily comprise antenna units, data input units, data output units, and data transmission/reception units. The data input unit is generally a key pad which enables a user to input data through finger pressing operations, but a touch pad or a touch screen may also be used. The data output unit is generally an LCD or other screen display.
The key pad, which is used to input data, is composed a number of key arrays. The keys include numeric keys, character keys, send keys, end keys, function keys, and the like. Usually, fifteen to twenty keys are appropriately positioned on the top surface of a portable terminal and are exposed to a user so that he/she can input data through finger pressing operations as desired.
Recently, users' tastes in choosing terminals tend to be diversified and their desire for information is an increasing trend. However, conventional portable terminals are not satisfying such demands. Although new terminals are being developed according to new design concepts, practical means to implement them for commercial purposes is still insufficient.